While most people won't be able to get their hands on Vista until next year, consumers will be able to get some of the media enhancements sooner. Microsoft is on track to release a Windows XP version of Windows Media Player 11 before the end of June, the company confirmed last week.

As a 64bits system GNU/Linux user, it's a good new for amd64 community because there is not 64bits version of WMV (and others) codecs for GNU/Linux..
Dont know if it exists for XP 64bits. Can anyone point me about this.

Actually, i need to use a chroot env with mplayer to play some of wmv files.

Depending on the distro you're using, you can install the 32-bit version of mplayer and mplayerplug-in and then install the appropriate codecs in /usr/lib32/win32 and /usr/lib/win32 (or just link the latter to the former) and you don't have to chroot. This is what I do.

I have found an occasional wmv that won't play on Linux, but most do play. The real problem here, of course, is that the industry can't seem to agree on a single open format for video and one for audio so users don't have to have multiple multimedia players or worry whether a file will play on their machine.

"The real problem here, of course, is that the industry can't seem to agree on a single open format for video and one for audio so users don't have to have multiple multimedia players or worry whether a file will play on their machine."

Or use one mediaplayer that supports all the formats you use - like gstreamer-, xine- or mplayer-frontends.

great still no DRM support though. That means if we want to buy individual songs vs. the whole (and usually crap filled fluff) CD we have to continue dual booting/VMWareing to CD burn then rip again. Which begs the question - why keep using Linux then if it can't do the job? Don't get me wrong, I love the Linux movement but I believe Apple will ship the MacOS for all systems and at 300% cheaper than MSFT Winblows long before Linux gets 100% support for desktop use. I hate DRM too but I'm a realist - it's not going away, what IS going to go away is NON-DRM.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Linux movement but I believe Apple will ship the MacOS for all systems and at 300% cheaper than MSFT Winblows long before Linux gets 100% support for desktop use. I hate DRM too but I'm a realist - it's not going away, what IS going to go away is NON-DRM.

You have to be a Microsoft-troll. Noone else shorts Microsoft as MSFT. That is: everyone who doesn't have MSFT stocks simply calls them MS.

I hate DRM too but I'm a realist - it's not going away, what IS going to go away is NON-DRM.

Actually it isnt. The retail stores are still full of DRM free music.

Then there is the low bit rates music downloads of online services like iTunes. Doesn iTunes use like 112Kbp/s ATRAC or something? I suppose that might cut it if your best piece of audio equipment is mediocre, but I am simply not willing to put up with less than CD quality. And why should I put up with lower quality when it doesnt cost me any less money?

(and usually crap filled fluff)

That totally depends on the artist. Perhaps the problem is you only listen to music written and produced by no talent losers who just couldnt come up with more than one decent song to put on their CD?

'Also, liquidat wrote us: "While I searched for information about Alsa support for Real/HelixPlayer I came across the HelixPlayer v3.0 project overview and found that there is a group working on this. This means that we will sooner or later get native (and legal) Windows Audio/Video support on Linux. Windows DRM though will not be supported on Linux but on "devices", whatever that may be."'

Lindows got the right to include codecs as part of the 20 million buyoff from Microsoft. They got the rights to distribute until 2008, and we all KNOW Microsoft will be MORE than willing to renew them, right?

I've heard this lots of time, people calling Linux a very specific OS. It can be "network OS", or "server OS", or "embedded OS", or whatever.
Some people just can't understand how Linux can be all that at the same time.
I think that's come from the fact that Linux is the first OS of its kind. An OS that can be as good at network, server, embedded or desktop.
Well, some people still argue about the desktop, I have no problem with people telling me I'm wrong on this. I keep telling Linux will wake up lots of people since 2001, when I switched entirely. I'm convinced it will spread even on the desktop (which is just fine to me), despite powerful road blocks put on Linux' path these last years.
I'm convinced because, even though I know Linux since 1999 only, I've been through lots of powerful FUD, and they have all been naturally destroyed by FOSS community.
Things like : "Linux will never gain share in the server space", same FUD with "datacenter", "business critical apps", "high end", "embedded", "multimedia", ...
All of this is shattered now, even though some still try to convey these feelings today.
All these improvements thanks to the competition, because they loved to put the finger on an area where FOSS lacks, and the community has always answered with improvements.
When you see no more things on which adversaries can put the finger, and all they have is red herring, you know FOSS has done it right.
And I find it amusing, every time I see someone spout years old red herring like "Linux is a server OS" .